It's never too early to start preparing for college, especially during these economic times. With the right steps, students and their families can stay on the path to a higher education.
California high school students with their sights set on a public university better step up their game, admissions officers and guidance counselors say. An unprecedented time of upheaval and funding cuts in the state university systems will leave less room for narrowly missed deadlines, poor senior-year grades and incomplete course work
With student fees rising sharply and often, it is a difficult time for families to plan for college. The uncertainty makes it particularly important to know all the options, experts say.
Just 60 percent of full-time students who enroll at a four-year public or private college in California graduate within six years, according to a study released in June by the American Enterprise Institute.
Here are tips that education reporter Katy Murphy has compiled for college-bound students and their parents. Tell us what you think and post your own tips.
Find out more about the success gap in California schools. Watch video and join the debate.
Did you know?
Community colleges offer a host of career technical education programs as well as academic courses that can help you transfer into a four-year university.
In 2007, 55 percent of all CSU graduates and 28 percent of University of California graduates started at a community college. But only about 10 to 12 percent of community college students transfer to a four-year university, according to a "Closing the Gap" report from the Public Policy Institute of California.
